Morrill’s legacy alive and well

I’m not sure whether Congressman Justin Morrill ever dined on Shrewsbury Street, but if he could have been with me on a recent visit, he would have felt right at home.

Morrill, as history buffs would know, was the father of the legislation that in 1862 led to the creation of many of our nation’s top public research universities.

Because of Morrill’s bill, young people from Worcester and throughout Central Massachusetts have been able to receive excellent undergraduate educations at UMass — and it is why Worcester can point with pride to the world-class academic, research and public service institution that is UMass Medical School.

Sitting with UMass Medical School students Adam Chin, Matt DeWolf and Mitch Li, it struck me that Morrill would have felt an enormous sense of satisfaction as the conversation swirled at our table at Shrewsbury Street’s Flying Rhino restaurant.

As busy as these three young men are with the heavy demands placed on medical school students, they have found the time to create an organization that is dealing with one of society’s most dangerous and daunting problems: obesity.

They are tackling the problem one menu, one restaurant at a time in Worcester — but their ideas and methods may soon find a national audience.

Adam, Matt and Mitch are the founders of WooFood, a program that encourages restaurants to provide healthy food choices for diners. If you see the WooFood stamp of approval at a restaurant or on a menu, you know that you will be able to order something that is going to be good — and good for you.

As we enjoyed lunch at the Flying Rhino, Adam explained why he and his UMass Medical School colleagues are so committed to their project.

“I grew up in Worcester, I still live in Worcester — this is my home. It’s not every day that you get to be a part of long-term change in your own backyard.”

The University of Massachusetts, like public universities across the nation, has a three-fold mission of education, research and public service. This mission was central to the original land-grant concept and is part of our DNA at UMass.

Listening to Adam, Matt and Mitch talk about the profound influence that a better diet can have on a person’s long-term health, I realized that our mission of education, research and public service all came together in the important work that these three young students and others are doing.

I had that same sense of admiration and satisfaction as I traveled to every corner of the state throughout my four-day bus tour.

I saw our mission alive and well at the new Green High Performance Computing Center about to open its doors in Holyoke, at UMass marine research centers in Gloucester and New Bedford, at the UMass Cranberry Research Station in Wareham, and at People Incorporated, a Fall River agency that provides services for those dealing with developmental issues and other challenges.

UMass Dartmouth art students have transformed what was a cavernous, inhospitable 20,000-square-foot former warehouse into a warm and welcoming center for People Inc. clients who are learning new skills and coping with life’s challenges there.

It was in 1862, during the darkest days of the Civil War, that President Lincoln signed the Morrill Land Grant Act into law. A year later, the state established the Massachusetts Agricultural College, the academic seed that has grown into the five-campus University of Massachusetts system.

In my view, the Morrill Act is one of the most important pieces of legislation in our nation’s history. It brought about the democratization of higher education and helped to ensure that a college degree would be available to the many and not just be the province of the few.

What the Vermont lawmaker did 150 years ago — throwing open the doors of academia to all who yearned to learn — led directly to what I saw during my 500-mile trip around this state. And what I saw confirmed Morrill’s vision: if you give men and women the tools to succeed, they will not only improve their own lives, they will improve society.

Congressman Morrill — and three young medical students studying and working in Worcester — all share a vision of changing lives and building a better future for our state, our nation and the world. You can change the world — one person and one menu at a time.

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